Shades of King Arthur

I started the The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater, because I am a fan of the Shiver Trilogy, but, I honestly had no idea what to expect.  As with Shiver this story is a new twist on a familiar legend.  Instead of werewolves, this is the legend of King Arther moved to the mountain country of Virginia.

Blue has grown up in a very non-tradional family.  She comes from a long line of true psychics.  She, however, does not have the sight, instead, she has the ability to amplify those powers in others.  Oh, and her future has been seen; she is destined to kill her true true love with a kiss.  Naturally, she avoids boys altogether, especially, Raven boys.  Raven Boys are rich, entitled, snobs who attend a local, very expensive, private school.  Much to her dismay, Blue becomes drawn to four boys on a mission to find a lost king.  Will she help them? Or, will her growing attachment lead to someone's death?

I like that this story is both familiar, and unpredictable.  Much like destiny, I thought I knew what was coming, but was surprised when we got there.  This is the first in The Raven Cycle series.

Moving story about living in Afghanistan

I must admit, I almost gave up on critically-acclaimed Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy.  I wasn't in the right mood, I think.  I'm so happy, however, that I finished it.  It became so much more than I expected.

It is the story of Zalaika, who lives in a traditional Muslim family in Afghanistan.  It is set after the Taliban has been removed from power, just as Afghanistan gets to vote again.  Zalaika dreams of many things, to learn to read, to have a family of her own, but especially to have her cleft lip repaired.  She is called "Donkeyface" because of her disfigurement, and is embarrassed to eat in public because it it so difficult.  Then, an American soldier sees her and offers to make her dream of a repaired lip come true. She also meets a local woman who begins to teach her to read.  It seems that her dreams are coming true, after all.

I appreciated this story because it depicted a realistic and respectful portrayal of the joys and struggles in Affhanistan.  I was afraid it would be a sort of Cinderella story in which everyone lives happily ever after.  However, it was not.  It manages to join hope and courage with fear and tragedy.  While written for young people, it is graphic in its description of violence; be prepared for discussion.

Exciting, post-apocalyptic

I wasn't sure what to expect from the book after seeing the cover of The Boy at the End of the World, by Greg van Eekhout.  It seemed a bit odd:

Why is the boy glowing?  Is the robot going to hurt him?  He's looking at something amazing? scary? huge? all of the above?  Is there a fire in the background?  It seemed a bit much for a cover, and I was worried that the book would be.....messy.  I must say, it was exciting, action-packed, and yet it worked.  I was never bored!

It begins with Fisher, the boy on the cover, waking (being born) in the pod in which he had been "grown."   This is set in a future in which humans have destroyed the earth.  In an effort to save the world that was falling apart, scientists created Arks in which they grew and maintained genetic clones of all the creatures that were dying: elephants, bears, bugs and humans, to name a few.  The Ark in which Fisher slept was completely destroyed.  He was the last living organism.  As The Ark crumbles around him, he must escape with only one companion....a robot that was programmed to maintain The Ark, and, who woke him.  Fisher quickly names him Click, and they escape into the wilds.  They discover killer robots, mini mammoths, giant killer parrots, and prairie dogs that talk.  They venture off in search of the other Arks, in hopes of finding more humans.  Will this be the end of humanity?

This books is full of action and a sly sense of humor.  For example, Fisher ends up joined by a baby mini mammoth that he quickly names "Protein."  Quick, entertaining, read that makes one think, a little, about the impact our decisions make far into the future.

Classic children's lit

I got a chance to read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by e.l. konigsburg, which shows up regularly on must-read lists of children's literature, and even won the Newbery Award.  I have to say that I was underwhelmed.  It seems to fallen prey to that phenomenon of not being able to live up to high expectations.

It is, ultimately, the story of young Claudia, who decides she is going to run away.  Like many young people that contemplate this, her reasons are large, yet unspecific.  Life at home is simply "not fair."  Claudia, however, is anything but typical....she is a planner.  She planned every detail, including roping in her younger brother, Jamie, because he has all the money.  They run away to the Metropolitan Mueseum of Art in New York City, and manage to stay in the museum at night, so they have someplace safe and warm.  They then become involved in trying to discover the origins of a statute that may have been carved by Michelangelo.

I enjoyed the resourcefulness of the siblings, and because I'm a librarian, their research process.  It is definitely pre-internet, and even pre-personal computer.  Nowhere, It is told from a very weird perspective, a sort of interrupted narrative from a third party.  I found that confusing at first.  It was a fine story, but, I'm not sure I can rave about it.

Blah

The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata was just OK for me.  It hits some interesting points of interest: minorities, farming, first kisses, rotten boys, odd family; however, it still manages to be bland.  Go figure.

It is the story of 12-year-old Summer, whose family is Japanese.  Her family works driving huge harvesting machines that harvest wheat.  They travel through the wheat fields of Texas, Oklahoma, and north.  They work long hours, under much pressure.  This season, Summer's parents are in Japan tending to family business, so she is working with her Japanese grandparents.  She must deal with their strictness, her "weird" younger brother, and her first crush.  

I learned much about the harvest process, as well as a little about being Japanese-American, but, there was almost too much about that, and not enough about the other.  Oddly, however, there is too much kissy girl stuff to appeal to the hard-to-reach boy segment that would appreciate the farming aspect.